Behind the Sun
by blinkingfox
Summary: Olivia prefers the fiction life. Especially since her real life has been nothing but stress.  Fiction may not be fiction after all... Jerry/OC 2011.
1. Chapter 1

When stressful events happen throughout your day, your dreams turn into nightmares. They say it's a way to relieve pressures of real life. Mine don't happen every "once in a while", because everyday of my life is stressful. I can't even remember the real version anymore. My nightmares are so real I confuse them with the real events. In one version, my house caught on fire and my parents burned to death. In another, a burglar came in and accidentally shot my mom, then my dad fought for the gun and ended up shooting himself. There are two where either a zombie or a vampire gets them. I believe in the paranormal, but I know a few that I can rule out as just nightmares.

So that's that. I'm 17, in an…. Orphanage slash homeless shelter, and spend most of my days reading outside, facing the main street, watching happy families go by. I had a flashlight to read outside on this particularly calm night.

Oh, and I guess I talk in my sleep because some of the kids make fun of me.

"BOO!" Carl, the worst of the worst snuck up from behind me and scared the shiiit out of me. He and his two friends, Sam and Jake, started laughing. "Reading about Vampires again?"

Carl's parents both killed themselves after declaring bankruptcy. Some people do just want to take the easy way out of things. I don't blame Carl for ending up like this, but the least he can do is learn from his parents. Bullying is just another way to get out of life easy. Sam was fat and his foster parents didn't want him anymore. I guess Jake's dad got arrested for drug distribution and then his mom ran away for some other man.

"At least I know **how** to read" I shot back at him.

"Very funny. Watch what you say, you bitch" Carl kicked me over and the book flew out of my hands.

"God dammit, you made me lose my page!" I got up quickly and stood up in Carl's face, but quickly got pushed again by Sam's fat ass.

"Why are you reading in the dark anyway? Waiting for someone… or should I say.. something?" Sam laughed.

For the most part, I feel bad for these boys, but at least these boys know how they ended up in here. It's still unfortunate. If they were raised in healthy families, they would be fine. It's not their fault; it's their parents. My parents were murdered. I don't deserve to be here…

"Hey!" One of the adults saw me on the ground in front of the three boys and started walking over to us.

"Little girl needs her protectors. Let's leave" Carl and the boys left.

"Are you okay, Olivia?"

I didn't want to say "no", so I just grabbed my book and ran off to the park.

Sitting on the swings give me a chance to people watch. There was a boy that walks by every now and then. His name is Ed. I hear him talk about things I like and used to do. Role playing, video games, things like that. I heard him talk about vampires once, which led me to my vampire reading kick. They're so interesting. Not the ones that sparkle mind you. You know which ones I'm talking about; I won't utter the name.

I hope that one day, I can talk to him…. Until then, I'll just watch him go by.

….Next Morning.

"It happened again" Carl laughed, "The vampire was chasing her. She kept saying "stop following me!". So fucking hilarious. It's like she actually thinks a vampire killed her parents."

Carl sat only two tables away from me and I could hear him clearly. So no doubt everyone in the vicinity can hear him. In fact, it was certain when they all started laughing.

A random kid sat next to me and laughed, "Hey Olivia, where the Count, huh? Dracula? Sucks about your parents, but damn! You can't keep this shit hidden!"

I kept quiet and just walked away, out of the kitchen area, and out of the building. I sat on a bench by the sidewalk and tried to hold my composure together. It wasn't that I was sad about being bullied; I'm used to it. I'm just frustrated.

"By the way, have you seen Adam? He hasn't been at school for a couple days" Two random kids were just walking by, talking.

"He wasn't on Xbox Live yesterday either which is SUPER weird. Not even returning my calls. Who knows, he's probably just sulking because that girl in his math class rejected him" The two boys started laughing.

Weird. Some other kid their age was missing the other day, too. Maybe it's cause I'm a nerd, but I wouldn't ever skip school….

I looked over and saw Jake walk over, by himself. Great. "You know, Olivia… If you just stop being so weird, they'd leave you alone"

I didn't say a word.

"Really? After giving you HELPFUL advice, you're still just blowing it off?" He waited for me to say something. "Come on, really. I feel sorry for you and I'm trying to help."

"If you really wanted to help me, you'd do so while Carl and Sam are being mean. Can you please leave now?"

He sighed, "If I did that, I wouldn't have any friends. That's what you want, isn't it? For everyone to be just as lonely as you"

"Sure" He wasn't going to get me riled up that easily…

"I mean if you talking to people as much as you read creepy books, I'm sure you'd be okay with everyone!"

"I like books"

"So you like being an antisocial weirdo?"

"There is nothing I want to say to anyone living in there. Now if you don't mind, I really want to be by myself"

He scoffed, "This is why you don't have friends!"

I turned to him, "You think I'm alone because I'm "weird". I'm alone because I want to be."

"No, I don't think you're weird anymore. I just think you're a bitch"

I heard Carl and Sam's voices as they were approaching, "Ewww stay away from her, she'll nerd out all over you"

I stood up and walked closer to the building, "You're an idiot" I muttered

"Awww, livvy, did I hurt you fweeelings?" Carl said in a baby voice. And they say **I'M** the weird one….

I walked back inside to see an adult walk by, "Excuse me. Mind if I go walk over to the library for the day?" I asked him

"Absolutely. Make sure you sign out." He handed me something along the lines of a hall pass. It grants us permission to leave the perimeter. "Before you go… is there anything you want to talk about?"

I thought for a moment, "Nope"

"I see Carl and his friends around you a lot. They bug you?" He was concerned.

"They're just annoying." I looked down.

"Have they ever touched you? I'm just concerned for your safety. You understand"

"I do understand. But you know… boys will be boys…" I chuckled.

He looked at me with caring eyes, "You're avoiding the question. This will be between the two of us, I promise"

I paused for a moment and looked at the pass for a 4 hour absence. "Only 4 hours? It takes almost an hour to get to the library…" I said.

"You give me an answer, and I'll extend it" He smiled. He was such a nice older man.

I smiled back, "They're just expressing frustrations with the way their lives turned out. Who am I to say that it's the "wrong way"?"

"Expression is healthy, but not for everyone around them. We care about their well being just as much as yours. We want to help them, in which will help you, too"

"They're just being boys…"

"You want that extended hall pass, don't you? Did they ever touch you?" He said in a hushed tone.

"…Yes"

….

My pass got extended till curfew. Which was 9pm. It was already 8 and dark by the time I left the library. Good news. I learned some German. What did you do today?

Before I realized what had happened, I was on the ground, a painful ache in my stomach. I looked up to see Carl, Sam, and Jake looking down at me smiling.

"You told on us!" Carl said angrily

"…What are you talking about?" I groaned.

"Anderson put us on probation because of you! Go back to him and tell him that you're just a fucking liar!" He practically yelled

"Well it's the TRUTH!" I tried getting up, but Sam just kicked me and held me down with his heavy foot. I tried to struggle.

"So you DID tell him! I knew it! How else would he have known?" Carl said.

"Maybe because you hit me in broad daylight and he just WATCHES!" Sam stepped down harder.

"What, you fucking Anderson to get your way? You're such a bitch and just wasting space" Jake stepped up and asked.

I couldn't answer, "I…. Can't… breath" I was wheezing. Finally, Sam stepped off.

"You're going to regret saying anything" Sam said as he kicked me forward into a dumpster. I bounced off of it and smacked onto the hard ground. I tried to look up, but my hair was clouding my vision. It was sticking to my face because of the tears that I just noticed. Sam picked me up by my hair. I was on my knees, but not because of my own strength. Jake held my arms back behind me.

Carl leaned down and I saw him pull out something shiny. I moved my eyes to see what he pulled out. A pocket knife. Doesn't the shelter check before allowing people to leave? And if he's on probation, why is he out? "Oh, you're **definitely** going to regret saying anything." Carl shoved the knife into my stomach.

I yelled in pain, but he covered my mouth real quick. "Shhhhh" he hushed as he wiggled it around quite a bit before pulling the knife out in one quick motion. He held the knife up to my throat and started dragging it lightly, but firm enough, down my neck.

"I sure hope you recover from this…because I'm going to make the rest of your life HELL, Olivia. I can't tell you how much I can't stand you. Dammit, stop shaking so much!" He squeezed his hand tighter around my mouth, hurting my jaw.

I didn't realize how hard I was shaking. Was this it? What was he going to do that I may not recover from?

"Carl, just do it! My arm is getting tired" Sam whined.

"Shut up, fat-ass." Jake said.

I shut my eyes and only concentrated on my own heartbeat and the voices around me.

"Hey, guy" I heard a low, raspy voice that I didn't recognize. The hand around my mouth dropped and the knife left my neck, Carl screaming in pain.

"What the-!" Jake and Sam both let go of my hair and hands, and I fell on my stomach - Again, my hair obscuring my vision.

I heard a body drop as soon as mine did. I tried to get up, but I was too distracted by the pain in my stomach, and the blood dripping from the wound. My neck was covered in blood as well. I heard the obvious sound of Sam's body dropping to the ground. I finally got to sit up and turn so that I was sitting while leaning against the brick wall behind me. I heard another yell and I managed to move the hair out of my face to find out what was happening.

There was a fourth man, one that I did not recognize. His back was turned to me and he was towering over Jake, his body becoming seemingly more limp. Soon enough, Jake's body fell to the ground. The man stood there in place. He turned his head so that his profile was visible to me.

He turned to look at me and started walking in my direction, wiping his mouth of…blood?

I was still out of breath and panting. I tried to crawl backwards, away from this man, but the pain in my stomach hurt too much. I shut my eyes and started saying anything I could. It was all just gibberish to him, I'm sure. My vision was blurring and the last thing I remember before I blacked out was him right at my feet, staring down at me.

…


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up, but wasn't yet coherent. "I've had some vivid nightmares, but damn." I said to myself. I tried to sit up and that's when I realized it wasn't a nightmare at all. I even realized I was in the nurse's office. The door opened, revealing a nurse.

"My goodness, you're awake! How are you feeling?" She asked.

I was confused. I remember being on the ground, 45 minutes away from the shelter. "What happened?"

"Oh, I don't know. The security guard, Cale, just found you in the park, all bloodied and beaten up."

"…The…park?"

"Yes, dear. What even happened?" She asked.

I just looked at her dumbfounded. I stared for her way too long.

"Dear? Miss Olivia?"

I snapped out of it and then I suddenly occurred to me that I wasn't alone. Out of reaction to my thoughts, I tried to sit up real fast, but it didn't work.

"Dear, you need to be laying down-"

"Where are Carl, Sam, and Jake?" I interrupted and started looking around. It was just she and I in that office.

"Who?"

I slowly sat up and I felt the bandages around my torso and neck. I rolled off the bed and headed towards the door.

"Olivia, you really should be laying down!"

I felt bad for the poor woman, but I ignored her and walked out to the hallway. I saw two police officers talking to Anderson. I tried to listen in

"That's absolutely ridiculous!" Anderson said.

"We know, sir. Our investigators did a thorough check. We have a forensics team with them, too," one officer said.

Forensics? My blood is going to be on that scene… I walked my way to them, holding my stomach. "Sir?"

"Olivia! You should be in bed-"

"I was in that alleyway." I interrupted. The police men and Anderson looked at each other, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop. But I was there. It's how I got this wound"

"3 people are dead, and you're just injured?" A cop asked.

Dead? I gave him a look, "Yeah?"

"Can you explain how you got that injury?"

"Carl stabbed me. And then he was cutting my neck" I responded.

"He would not have had a weapon on him if he left the building," Anderson said, mostly towards the cops.

"He had one on him! He told me he was on probation so I don't even know how he got out." I paused and pointed to Anderson, "And wait a minute, you said our conversations would be confidential!"

"He's not on Probation." Anderson said confused, "I haven't gotten the chance to speak with him after you left yesterday"

"But he said…." I stopped, "One of his friends must have heard us…."

"So that weapon on him…." A cop said.

"Yes, they are checked before they leave, and re-checked when they re-enter." Anderson explained

"It was a pocket knife" I piped in, "he couldn't been hiding it in his shoe or something…."

The cop looked at me like he didn't believe me, "A pocket knife did that?"

"What the heck? No disrespect, sir, but you have no idea how bad this hurts!" I was starting to lose it.

"Now, now, Olivia" Anderson said.

"Let's say he did injure you" A cop began,

"Which he did!"

"Alright. How did they end up dead and you ended up 100 feet away from the building" He finished.

"I don't know! I just blacked out and woke up in the nurse's office…" I trailed off, "Oh! There was another guy!" I explained to them what I saw.

"There were teeth marks on the victim's necks" The other cop said to the first one.

"What like a vampire?" The first cop asked and they both started laughing a little.

I kept a stern look throughout their entire laugh.

"There has to be a rational explanation…" Anderson said.

"We'll see what forensics has to say and then we'll get back to you" The cop said. They left.

Anderson turned to me, "At least you're okay"

I looked up at him, "That guy saved me. You don't understand what the 3 of them were doing to me…." I tried not to cry.

"I tried asking you if they were bullying you, but you didn't want to answer"

"I'm fine with mean comments and some pushing, Mr. Anderson. They never tried to use a KNIFE on me!"

Anderson sighed, "Go back to the nurse so she can check on those wounds" And then he walked away.

I watched him leave and I felt more alone than usual.

…

Sitting at the dinner table that day was also worse than usual. I wasn't hungry and I ended up just sitting there playing with my food. All I could do was hear people around me talk… as usual.

"You saw all those creepy books she's been reading. SHE probably fuckin bit them!" Some girl yelled. I recognized her voice as Lauren, the girl who kind of liked Jake. Her voice was shaky, she's been crying.

"Yeah, what the fuck is she still doing here?" Her friend, Sasha, said in a louder tone to make it SURE that I would hear her.

"You hear that, you bitch!" Lauren stood up and yelled, "Get your vampire shit together and GET the fuck OUT!" The security guard had to pull her out of dining area.

"She's going to kill us next. Let's start a petition to get her out of here. I don't want to die!" Sasha's boyfriend said.

I stared down hard at my food. It was too hard to block them out. I had to resist. Once those cops prove it wasn't me that killed them, we'll see how they start acting…

Before I could finish my thought, I felt cold soda and ice being poured over me and my food… Whoever did that then threw the cup into my face. I didn't look up. I didn't care. I heard everyone just laughing. I lost it. I stood up and threw my tray at the kid who spilled the pop over me. "I didn't do anything! They tried to kill ME! But who cares, because apparently reading FICTION makes you weird and crazy!" I kicked my chair over and stormed out, tears finally streaming down my face.

I was lying down on the bench by the park, trying to hold in my tears, but they kept coming. At least I'm not a loud crier.

"I'm not going to bother you, but do you mind if I have a seat?" I heard a voice

I looked up a little, trying to hide my red, crying face to get a look at the guy. The moonlight was bright enough to be able to see him at least a little. Without saying anything, I bent my knees up so there was room for the man to sit.

After a few moments of silence, "I'm sorry… this must be really awkward for you"

"You know it's dangerous talking to strangers, right?" The man said.

"Everyone is a stranger to me, so it doesn't matter" I sat up and wiped the tears away from my face, "Don't take this the wrong way, but it's nice to have company that doesn't completely hate you…". I used my peripherals to see the guy look at me a little bit before looking the other way.

"You live there?" He asked

I nodded.

"No friends?" He asked in a strange tone

"Not exactly. Even less now." I sighed. I waited for him to say something, "You're not going to ask why?"

"If you want to tell me."

"They all think I killed 3 kids that lived there." I turned my body to face him. It may be the moonlight, but that's when I noticed how attractive he was. "Which is false! Those 3 tried to kill ME! Some GUY saved me and the rest is just a blur to me… I'm sorry… I don't know why I'm telling you all this. You probably think I'm weird, too, huh? It's just nice to be able to talk about it. Don't worry though; I'm sure you'll grow to hate me too. Oh jeez, I'm just talking. I'm sorry…." I looked away and we sat in silence.

"You apologize too much" He finally said.

"I usually don't talk or… anything" I sighed. "This is nice" I looked over at him again, and he glanced over once.

He chuckled softly, ""Some guy""

I stared at him for a moment. The way he said 'guy'….. "What?"

""Some guy" saved you. How noble"

I got up, carefully watching my injuries, and sat on the ground, looking up at him.

He raised on of his eyebrows.

My eyes widened. "It was you!" I whispered

He smirked and looked over to me and then to the building. He seems very fidgety.

I sat back up on the bench, this time, much closer to the guy. "That's a yes! Ohmygod thank you!" I came in close to hug him, "Why're you so cold?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa" he pushed me off of him.

"I'm sor-…. That probably came off weird. Borderline illegal. I'm way too young for… to be hugging… men." I blushed,

He smirked and looked away and back again, "Everyone is 'too young' for me" He stood up and then so did. I came up to about his chin.

"Please be careful. Policemen are looking for the man who killed the 3…."

"I'm not too worried about it" He started walking over to his dark pick-up truck.

"What can I do to repay you for… you know"

He looked at me with a weird look in his eye and a smirk. I was almost frightened by him, "We'll find something"

"Does that mean I'll see you again?" I tried to say flirtatiously. It probably just sounded super lame and awkward from a 17 year old. Like I was trying too hard.

"More than likely"

"I'm… Olivia"

He looked at me once more before he got into his truck and drove off

"Guess I… don't get a name."

…


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews and adding my story to your favorites! There are some very good Fright Night fanfics on here as well, especially some of the new ones lately. Anyway, I'm still trying to set the mood for the story, but there will be a lot more Jerry after this chapter, as well as someone else which you will figure out by the end of this one.  
>Thanks!<p>

…

"So Miss Lawson" The cop said to me. We were in the police station sitting across of each other. They wanted to make sure my story was the same as it was yesterday's. Anderson and the security guard who found me, Cale, were outside the door.

"Olivia is fine"

"…Alright, Olivia. So you said you were walking home and Carl, Sam, and Jake all jumped you and proceeded to attack you."

"And he stabbed me" I added.

"And then what about this fourth person?"

"I don't know where he came from, but he got Carl off of me, then Sam, then Jake. I didn't know that he actually killed them, but he SAVED me. Carl would've killed me if he had shown up a moment later. I blacked out in the alley, and woke up in the nurse's office. She told me I was found at the park. I don't know how I got there." I started to get worked up. How can he not believe me? My story is solid strong.

"Forensics searched and there weren't any extra sets of DNA anywhere. No prints, anything. Even the bite marks on the victim's necks have no saliva."

"Bite marks? So is that how the died?"

The cop gave me a strange look, "It probably wasn't a bite mark, per sey, but the report says that they died when the jugular was punctured"

"Is there anything else, officer? I really don't know what else you want to hear"

"The truth"

"I am telling the truth! It's just that either my head was on the ground, or I was too blacked out to pick out details!"

"Okay, okay. We'll get some more information and get back to you"

I walked out of the office, past Anderson and Cale.

…

I was back at the library, using their computers, looking up news about the other night's events. 3 teenagers were found dead. Cause of death: punctured jugular from an unknown source. Girl in the scene was found 10 miles down the road. They had a few pictures up. It was disturbing indeed. I could see the blood on the ground. My blood. It was even more disturbing knowing that my body could've been laying there instead of theirs.

Anderson required me to take a bus from now on. I was waiting at the bus stop until…

"Help!" a girl ran up to me and fell on her knees, out of breath. Her hands were bloodied, but she didn't look hurt.

I backed up, "Whoa what's with the blood?" I looked closer, "Lauren?"

She looked up, "Oh great…." She stood up quickly, but fell back down, her legs weak, "Your crazy friend just… bit my friends!" She was crying.

"What are you talking about?" I took a step closer

"Stay away from me, you psycho!"

"Lauren, come on. I don't mean to be self deprecating, but what friend?"

She seemed to calm down a little, "They're dead, Olivia…. He's going to come after me, next"

I looked around, "No he won't. Okay, we can't get on a bus with you looking like this," I tried to help her up, "Can you walk?"

She was reluctant to answer, "I think so." She stood up and started limping

"Is it your ankle? Let me help" I tried to get her to use me as a crutch, but she just kept me at a distance

"Lauren, trust me. You kind of don't have a choice"

"You're right… Either he kills me, or you do," She put an arm around my shoulders and I helped her walk.

What would of normally been a 45 minute walk took a little over an hour. It was silent for a while.

"Hold on I need a break…" Lauren let go of me and sat on the ground for a moment.

I looked over to where we came from to see a man way in the distance. He walked into the darkness. Could that be the guy? Was he following me?

Lauren noticed me staring, "What do you see him?"

Her voice snapped me out of my thoughts, "Um… No. Just can't be too careful. We should probably hurry…"

But we got back and immediately went to Anderson and told him what happened.

"And Olivia just happened to be there?" Cale asked.

I gave him a look, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Officer, now's not the time." Anderson said.

"It wasn't Olivia. It was a guy. I ran away from him and I found her at a bus stop," Lauren piped up.

She actually stood up for me. I was sure she'd lie to them and just say it was me.

Anderson took Lauren to the nurse while he and Cale call the police to check the crime scene. I waited outside with Lauren while the nurse was away for a break. After a few moments of silence, Lauren spoke.

"So it really wasn't you…" she said softly. I questioned for her to elaborate. "Carl and … his friends."

"Oh, I should've known… Sorry I didn't mean for you to bring that up" I felt bad when I saw her about to cry.

She shook her head, "No it's fine… I'm sorry for accusing you…" She wiped her tears away.

I just nodded, "Yeah, it wasn't me." I wanted to forgive her, but it's hard to when someone insults you based on false information. Hell, people have been doing that since I got to this orphanage shelter, why am I feeling hurt NOW?

"You're a really good person…" Lauren said, "Even after all those mean things I've said to you, you still helped me out. You could've just left me there at the bus stop. Hell, it couldn't even been a trap to just pull you in an alley and jump you."

I looked at her dumbfounded, "That thought didn't even cross my mind." Lauren laughed softly.

"Honestly, we wanted to. We were probably going to. But… that guy attacked us right before… I… I'm so sorry, Olivia…" She was crying hard at this point.

I didn't say anything. She honestly wanted me dead. That guy saved me again. Well… this time he saved me before I was even attacked. It can't be a coincidence.

I was laying down, awake, in my bed and staring at the ceiling, thinking - probably not the best thing to do after events like that. Nightmares started to happen – the usual. Something was in my house. I could hear my parents screaming. I ran out of the house and something was following me. I knew that I was running, and heading for the police, but I wasn't actually getting anywhere.

I woke up to the sounds of people talking in the hallway outside my door.

"Is this her room?" A girl asked

"I don't know, let's just get it over with." Another girl asked.

"I wonder why she didn't kill Lauren"

"Ew, she probably LIKES Lauren!"

"Hahaha I always pegged Olivia as being a lesbian."

Funny. I was still too half asleep to register what sound I was hearing after that, but I checked the clock and it was 2:00am. As soon as the noises and voices stopped, I walked out and noticed my door. Those girls spray-painted graffiti all over my door. Things like "You monster", "fucking bitch", even an "ugly" and a "lesbian", etc… Very uncreative insults.

After 11pm, the doors are locked tight and no one is allowed out. Good thing my window is right next to a tree that I can actually climb. It's also in a blind spot for the cameras. How did I get so lucky, again?

I sat out on the bench where I spoke to that stranger. Maybe he'd come by again. Part of me didn't want him to come by because then it would've confirmed my beliefs – he was following me. He never showed up… I got up and left to go to my bed.

After my morning shower, I started to hear a commotion. People were giving me dirty looks as I walk by. I ignored them and decided to check out what was happening. There were policemen and even an ambulance outside. I couldn't get too close, but I saw people standing around something. Something compelled me to push my way through, despite the cops trying to hold me back.

"Miss, you can't go through here!"

"Right, sorry…" I faked him out and made him drop his guard, so I can run under his arm. And that's when I saw it. Lauren's dead body, splattered hard on the pavement. She must have found a way to the rooftop and jumped… Poor girl. I felt guilty. The last time I saw her, she was crying and she apologized. I didn't try to make her feel better; I didn't even accept her apologies. I felt sick. I ran back inside and covered my mouth with my hands. The image of her body couldn't leave my mind.

Someone pushed me, "That should've been you!"

"Probably" I just said and walked to my room. I saw a note under my door.

"Dear Olivia,

Carl is gone, and my best friends are gone. I already lost my parents and had to deal with it. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do and I can't go through that process ever again. I'm not strong enough. I'm truly alone. I'm sorry for making you feel bad for being alone. It isn't easy. I'll be on the rooftop. Thanks for saving me.

-Lauren"

I lied down on my floor. She wrote this to me to test me – to see if I would save her. She wanted me to stop her from jumping to prove that she wasn't alone. I walked out of the building trying to ignore everyone I can. I always leave the shelter feeling like it would be the last time. That some miracle would happen and make my life better. This time… probably won't be any different, but the feeling of never coming back is still there.

I went over to the school nearby and sat. School eventually let out and I saw all the kids walk out. I approached one and I don't know where the courage came from,

"Ed."

He stopped and looked confused, "Hi. Sorry, do I know you?"

"You don't. Have you ever seen a vampire?"

He gave me a dismissive half-chuckle, "I don't know what you're talking about"

"Come on, I hear you talking about it sometimes. I live near by…"

He looked around a bit to make sure no one was around him. Poor kid probably gets picked on for liking this kind of stuff as well… "I've seen one…" He finally said, "My best… **ex** best friend's next door neighbor might be."

"All those murders that have been on the news lately? You think they're all his doing?"

"Nothing else makes sense. And some woman said someone tried to bite her. " He started to get worked up, "AND last night, some girls were thought to be dead, but their bodies are missing"

Lauren's friends…. They're… missing?

"Oh man, I don't usually get to talk about this sort of stuff with anyone"

"Me either…" I looked down, "Everyone thinks I'm crazy"

"Have you seen one?" Ed asked.

I looked up at him, "I'm not sure…"

...


End file.
